In a significant change to Bangladesh`s education system, SSC exams will be held in December instead of February starting from 2026, according to recent announcements. However, final decisions are still pending.
Under the new curriculum, the SSC exam will be based solely on the textbooks of the tenth grade. The evaluation will consist of 65% written assessment and 35% activity-based assessment. The entire exam will span 5 hours. These new methods are nearly finalized, with the Education Ministry expected to confirm them by May 31. It remains undecided whether the exam will retain the SSC name or be given a new one.
Sources indicate that a high-level committee formed to implement the new curriculum has almost finalized the assessment methods. The committee has introduced a seven-step scale for annual and half-yearly school evaluations. The SSC exam will see several changes, including the shift from February to December. To finalize these changes, the Education Ministry has scheduled a meeting later this month.
Professor Farhadul Islam, Chairman of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB), stated, "Several new decisions regarding the SSC exam are coming with the new curriculum. The exam duration may increase and the exam date might change. Everything will be finalized in another meeting and then communicated to everyone."
5-Hour Examination Duration
The evaluation committee`s recommendations state that the 2026 SSC exam will follow the new curriculum. Students will be assessed in ten subjects, including written tests. Each subject`s evaluation, including breaks, will last 5 hours. Similar to current practices, students will take their exams at separate centers.
The SSC exam will cover only tenth-grade subjects. Unlike the previous system, which included both ninth and tenth grades, the new curriculum focuses solely on the tenth grade. Students will study ten subjects: Bangla, English, Mathematics, Science, History and Social Science, Digital Technology, Life and Livelihood, Religious Studies, Health Protection, and Art and Culture.
To manage the SSC exam`s overall organization, a resource pool of 600 subject-specific teachers will be formed. Initially, these teachers will undergo a seven-day training program supervised by NCTB experts. For each of the eleven education boards, four teachers per subject, totaling 44 teachers, will be finalized.
